Nuts (1987)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

Tom Topor (play)
Tom Topor (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Mad As In Angry. Or Just Plain... NUTS

Plot:

A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.

Plot Keywords:

Court | Self Defense | Murder | Freedom | Courtroom Scene

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes.

Cast

Barbra Streisand	...	Claudia Draper
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Aaron Levinsky
Maureen Stapleton	...	Rose Kirk
Karl Malden	...	Arthur Kirk
Eli Wallach	...	Dr. Herbert A. Morrison
Robert Webber	...	Francis MacMillan
James Whitmore	...	Judge Stanley Murdoch
Leslie Nielsen	...	Allen Green
William Prince	...	Clarence Middleton
Dakin Matthews	...	1st Judge
Paul Benjamin	...	Harry Harrison
Warren Manzi	...	Saul Kreiglitz
Elizabeth Hoffman	...	Dr. Johnson
Castulo Guerra	...	Dr. Arantes
Stacy Bergman	...	16 year-old Claudia

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | West Germany:16 (f) | France:Unrated | Canada:14A (TV rating) | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (#28774)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This is the final film of both Robert Webber and Karl Malden.

Quotes:

Dr. Herbert A. Morrison: Would you like a cup of coffee?
Claudia Draper: Not unless there's Thorazine in it.
Dr. Herbert A. Morrison: Sorry, only milk and sugar.
Claudia Draper: Pass.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Boys Life: Three Stories of Love, Lust, and Liberation (1994)

Soundtrack:

HERE WE ARE AT LAST

Riveting courtroom drama; one of the best of it's kind

Badly neglected by both audiences and critics at the time of it's original release, NUTS is a film that is ripe for reevaluation. Based on Tom Toplor's 1981 courtroom play, NUTS is definitely a dialogue-based film with little Hollywood flashiness. Though extremely well-written (by Toplor, adapting his own work with Darryl Ponicsan and Alvin Sargent) and sharply staged and directed by veteran Martin Ritt, it is the cast whom is really responsible bringing NUTS to life. Barbra Streisand gives an absolutely bravura performance that should have earned her an Oscar nomination. Alternately hilarious and frightening, Streisand is always mesmerizing as she delves so far into character.

Richard Dreyfess is nothing less than Streisand's equal as her public defender. He too was robbed of an Oscar nomination. The supporting cast is a top-notch ensemble of professional character actors (Maureen Stapleton, Eli Wallach, Robert Webber, James Whitmore, and Karl Malden), all of whom work their craft flawlessly. NUTS' screenplay does indulge in the predictability of some of the typical courtroom-plot conventions a little too often, but Toplor's absorbing script still deserves high praise for it's fascinating exploration of what constitutes as normality and whether or not the insane should be required to receive treatment. NUTS isn't going to win over any fans of 3-cuts-per-second action films, but it will leave lovers of thought-provoking, expertly-acted dramas fascinated.